|
COLLABORATIVE LETTER FROM THE CHAIRS
Dawn Bikowski, Justin Shewell, and Suzan Stamper
Dawn
Bikowski, CALLIS Chair, Linguistics Department, Ohio
University, USA
Justin Shewell,
CALLIS Chair-Elect, American English and Culture Program, Arizona State
University, USA
Suzan
Stamper, CALLIS Past Chair, English for
Academic Purposes Program, Indiana University-Purdue University,
Indianapolis, IN, USA
|
Dawn Bikowski |
Justin Shewell |
Suzan Stamper |
Hello everyone and welcome to another issue of the CALLIS newsletter, On CALL.
We are very excited about this year’s 2012 TESOL Convention in
Philadelphia and would like to share a bit about what we have planned.
You’ll notice that in addition to our regular conference activities and
presentations, we also have opportunities for members who cannot make it
to the conference to view and participate in events.
TESOL 2012 PHILADELPHIA
Academic Session
The title of 2012’s Academic Session is “Smart Technology: Intelligent
Tutoring Systems in Language Teaching and Learning.” The session will be
held on Saturday, 31 March 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the
Technology Showcase (right next to the Electronic Village) and will
feature panelists Dr. Lewis Johnson, Karen Price, Troy Cox, and
Christopher Hill, who will discuss what intelligent tutoring systems are
and how they are supported by research, and follow with specific
examples and techniques for using intelligent tutoring systems in
curricular settings.
InterSection With CALL, MW, SLW
We are also pleased to announce our primary InterSection between the
CALLIS, the Materials Writers IS, and the Second Language Writing IS.
Entitled “Going Beyond the Textbook in Second Language Writing with
CALL,” this session will be held on Thursday, 29 March 2012 from 10:00
a.m. to 11:45 a.m. in the Technology Showcase, and will feature Maggie
Sokolik, Carla Meskill, Leslie Opp-Beckman, Lise Minovitz, and Steve
King. The panelists will discuss the need for CALL materials that can
supplement programs already using a textbook and present techniques for
developing and implementing these materials, with a specific focus on
teaching second language writing. They will also discuss the future of
the textbook and its integration with technology.
InterSection With ITA, SPL, and CALL
The CALLIS has also teamed up with the International Teaching
Assistants (ITA) IS and the Speech, Pronunciation and Listening IS
(SPLIS) to organize an InterSection titled “Technologies for Refining
International Teaching Assistants’ Speaking, Pronunciation and
Listening.” This session will feature Robert Elliott, Mary Jetter, and
Gary Carkin, who will discuss current technologies for teaching
speaking, pronunciation, and listening to international teaching
assistants. This session will be held on Friday, 30 March 2012 from 1:00
p.m. to 2:45 p.m. in the Technology Showcase.
InterSection With EFL, IC, and CALL
Finally, in connection with the English as a Foreign Language
(EFL) IS and the International Culture (IC) IS, we are organizing
another InterSection titled “Promoting Understanding Across Cultures in
the EFL Classroom Through CALL.” This session will feature Carla Arena,
Erin McCloskey, Claudio Fleury, Claire Siskin, and Eric Roth, who will
address the supportive role of CALL in bridging the gap between language
and culture to promote excellence in the EFL classroom.
In addition to our Academic Session and InterSections, we’ll be having
our Electronic Village events. What follows is a brief explanation of
each adapted from descriptions found on the CALLIS Moodle.
EV FAIRS
EV Fairs are informal demonstrations in which teachers or
teacher-developers share their use of technology. Presenters demonstrate
their technology applications in a 25-minute session on one computer
station. After 25 minutes, the session is repeated. Participants attend
sessions of their choosing and drop in and out of demonstrations.
Demonstrations are informal and preclude highly structured
presentations.
EV FAIRS CLASSICS
EV Classics are previously run informal demonstrations in which
teachers or teacher-developers share their use of technology.
Presenters demonstrate their technology applications in a 25-minute
session on one computer station. After 25 minutes, the session is
repeated. Participants attend sessions of their choosing and drop in and
out of demonstrations. Demonstrations are informal and preclude highly
structured presentations.
HARDWARE & MOBILE TECHNOLOGY FAIR
The Hardware & Mobile Technology Fair focuses on the
uses of devices other than computers that offer unique applications,
such as iPods or tablets. Presenters demonstrate their hardware and
mobile technology applications in two consecutive 25-minute sessions.
After 25 minutes, the session is repeated. Participants may attend a
complete session or may drop in and out of several sessions.
MINI-WORKSHOPS
After a brief demonstration, presenters guide participants in hands-on
practice. Space is limited to 20 participants. Workshop duration is 90
minutes. Presenters provide experience in adaptation of software and/or
hardware for CALL purposes and create products for teaching and
learning. Following a short presentation, participants use computers for
hands-on practice.
DEVELOPERS' SHOWCASE
The Developers’ Showcase is an opportunity for ESOL teachers
and curriculum/course designers to demonstrate new and original computer
applications and/or Web sites. Presenters have 8 to 12 minutes to
demonstrate and/or operate their software and explain its features and
applications. A question-and-answer session follows each
presentation.
MOBILE APPS FOR EDUCATION
The Mobile Apps for Education
session provides ESOL teachers with the opportunity to demonstrate
pedagogical uses for their favorite mobile applications. In a lecture
format, presenters have approximately 10 minutes to demonstrate their
application and explain its uses for ESOL classrooms. A
question-and-answer session follows each presentation.
We will also be having our session “CALL for Newcomers” to give some
tips to those less familiar with using technology in language teaching.
We will also have “Ask Us: Free Advice for CALL,” a time when educators
can come in and ask experienced CALL users for quick pieces of advice
for specific teaching situations. From these events to the Developers’
Showcase, where we can see the latest ideas put into play in language
teaching and technology, CALLIS will be providing something for
everyone.
FOR EDUCATORS NOT ATTENDING TESOL 2012
We are so fortunate to have our fantastic team of webcasters working
behind the scenes in providing free online access to many of our CALL EV
events. These include the Academic Session and InterSections, in
addition to the Developers’ Showcase. In case you were not able to make
it to TESOL 2011 in New Orleans or missed some sessions, webcasts from
that conference can be found at 2011 EV
Webcasts.
Those of you interested in viewing the sessions in real-time and even
being able to ask questions can go to
Realtime Broadcast of Events to see the schedule and log in
to the system during the conference.
We also continue to provide free online courses with the Electronic
Village Online. Sessions started in January, so please visit the 2012
EVO Online Schedule to see how you can engage in professional
development. This is a great and useful resource that we are really
proud of in the IS.
Again, we welcome you to another TESOL convention in whatever capacity you can join us.
|